Pep Power: Manchester City crowned 2020-21 Premier League champions
Manchester City on Tuesday were crowned 2020-21 Premier League champions after Leicester City's 2-1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. This is Man City’s third title in the last four years.
The result means that Pep Guardiola's Manchester City cannot be displaced from the top of the table, as they have built a 10-point lead over Manchester United. City now have 80 points while Manchester United have 70. Leicester City is placed third with 66 points.
"It is Guardiola's 10th major honour since taking charge at City in 2016, and it comes a week after we booked our place in the UEFA Champions League final at the end of the month with a 4-1 aggregate victory over Paris Saint-Germain,]" Manchester City wrote on their official website.
"In a season like no other, one which has been significantly affected by the Coronavirus pandemic, City have shown remarkable consistency in turbulent times, overcoming a gruelling fixture schedule by heavily rotating the squad to ensure every player has played a part in this success," the club said.
THE PEP TALK
Pep Guardiola has marked his success at major clubs all around the world, from Barcelona to Bayern Munich to Manchester but there is something unique about his latest feat.
In mid-November, there was no sign that the Spaniard would remain with City beyond the end of season, with his contract set to expire in June. He had already been at Etihad longer than at any other club in his coaching career, so when he signed on a new two-year contract, it exemplified a wish from Pep to rebuild a team he had already grown from the ground. That has been made so much harder in the middle of an outbreak, with strict norms on team meetings, training activities, complex timetable that meant City played twice a week and a COVID-19 outbreak that shut down the training complex shortly after Christmas all totalling to the difficulties faced by Pep.
But not only has been able to start putting together a squad that can dominate for years to come, the 50-year-old has also evolved a new, striker-less system that has worked impressively, meaning injuries to Sergio Aguero and the not so good form of Gabriel Jesus have not caused many problems.
Instead, Pep has been able to bring the talent from his other attacking players. Kevin De Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva have rejoiced in the extra responsibility while Ilkay Gundogan has enjoyed his best-ever goalscoring season and comprised being the City coach's brains on the pitch.
KINGS OF ENGLAND
City are the kings of England yet again but it was far from the first half of the campaign. They won only five of their first 13 games in PL and were almost surprisingly placed in the bottom half of the table until December. But that poor form ended after a 1-1 draw with West Brom at the home.
A staggering 21-game win streak in all competitions followed, including 15 consecutive wins in the Premier League, to build a 12-point lead atop the table - before the winning streak ended in the 2-0 defeat to Manchester United in March this year. Despite a slow start, City have led the way across all key factors at both ends of the pitch.
Their control on the ball and high press has also been unsurpassed as they have completed more passes and recoveries in the attacking third than any other team. After City was crowned Champions on Tuesday, their fans took Twitter to celebrate the win. Here’s how they reacted:
The Premier League title is Manchester City's second trophy of the season. The club under Pep also won the English League Cup last month. Also, Manchester City have qualified for the Champions League final, where they will meet their Premier League rival Chelsea in Istanbul on May 29.
